What's Your Real Monthly Income?
Built for shift work: fire, police, EMS, and nurses. Your schedule and your pay, turned into one honest monthly number.
Which number do you know?
Most shift workers carry around three different "annual pay" numbers. Pick the one you're sure of.
Your schedule
Check your department calendar. Common answers run from every 7th to every 10th shift.
Your hourly rate
From your check or contract.
Your yearly pay
Leave out extra shifts you pick up and any stipends. Those come next.
Many fire contracts quote a salary that already covers the full schedule. Not sure? Your contract or payroll can tell you.
Your built-in overtime
This is how we split your pay into regular pay and the overtime baked into your schedule.
Your contract sets this, and it varies a lot. Quick check: take the REGULAR hours on your check and divide by the weeks in the pay period.
Stipends and regular extras
Paramedic or specialty pay, shift differential, longevity, education pay, a flat holiday bonus. Only what shows up on a regular basis.
Your scheduled monthly pay
Gross pay, before taxes and deductions.
How a lender may look at this
General guidelines, not a loan decision. Every lender and loan program sets its own rules.
- Lenders qualify you on gross pay, not take-home.
- Built-in overtime on a fixed schedule is often counted when your employer verifies it's part of your regular schedule. Some lenders average it like other overtime instead.
- Overtime you pick up is usually averaged over about two years, and it generally needs to look steady or rising. For first responders, lenders usually need to see your scheduled overtime is consistent before they'll count extra overtime on top of it.
- Stipends and bonuses are often counted when they're ongoing and documented. That includes a flat holiday bonus, which some departments pay instead of holiday overtime.
Do you pick up extra overtime?
Holdovers, extra shifts, details, call-backs. Anything on top of your schedule.
Heads up before you keep going
To see your full total with overtime, I'll ask for your name and email on the next screen. Your number shows up right away, and I'll email you a copy with what it means for a lender.
Your extra overtime
Enter it however you think about it.
Think about a normal month, not your best one. One huge month is not your average.
Where should I send it?
Your real monthly income
Gross pay, before taxes and deductions.
Your overtime and a lender
General guidelines, not a loan decision. Every lender and loan program sets its own rules.
Want to talk through what this number means for you?
Talk Through Your Numbers Want to see how a lender counts overtime? Read the guide.